Baking bread is top sport: 'Always deliver flawlessly and on time'

Top sport

Willy has been working in the bakery business for 40 years and now ten years in the bakery in Veenoord. “Before I came here, the choice was: modernize or close. The former was chosen and I was asked to take on this, that meant a lot, we all had to scale up considerably. I am extremely proud of the bakery and the team that is now there. The bakery is a top sport and that requires a heart for everything from everyone: from operator to logistics and from management to bakery. I sometimes say, people either work here for three weeks or until retirement.”

Safety, hygiene and customer satisfaction

“The basic principles of our bakery are safety, hygiene and customer satisfaction,” says Willy when we enter the bakery. “Our customers always expect the same quality and the breads must be delivered flawlessly and on time. Quality has always been important, but assurance is becoming increasingly precise. For example, we now have a Quality Assurance employee at every bakery.”

“We're almost a high-care environment,” he continues. “I don't want it to matter when someone comes by for inspection, it always has to be in perfect condition. This means that we have a high standard and are constantly working on hygiene. But, for example, the rice cabinet, which cannot be cleaned in between. Indeed, there is a humidity of 85% and 35 degrees there. These are not conditions to work in. So the cleaning is done every Saturday morning. On Saturday at 1.30 p.m., we'll start baking and baking here until 7 p.m. on Friday, then a major cleaning will follow and then start completely cleaned on Saturday at 1.30 p.m.”

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'I don't want it to matter when someone comes by. '

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modernizing

So ten years ago, it was decided to modernize. Willy explains that they weren't looking for lump-sum solutions: “Because it has to work, always. We can't afford a standstill.” Climate Group Holland was chosen for the small bread baking process and distribution warehouse. “Climate Group Holland came here for a few days to take all kinds of measurements: how are the air flows, where is the heat, where is excess pressure, where is negative pressure. They listened carefully to the requirements and wishes and then they set to work to create the best solution.”

Cool from below

The choice was made to cool from below with plastic ductwork in the space of the bread baking process. “Traditionally, cooling is done from top to bottom, but it's no use that it's a good temperature at a height of five meters, no one is there and there is no product there either. It must be good at working height. So what we do is cool from the bottom up. The air is brought down via channels with grilles at the ends. This way, it's very comfortable at work height in the short term.”

“The plastic ductwork that we have has been uniquely used here. Many bakeries have fabric tubes, but that is not a logical choice for hygiene reasons. Although the machines are designed in such a way that there is as little dirt as possible, you always have minimal flour and flour spraying. This canal work can be cleaned with a cloth in no time.”

Always the same temperature

“The most laborious part of the baking process is when the bread hasn't been baked yet,” Willy explains about climatizing the bakery. “Dough is very sensitive to external influences such as temperature changes. When dough comes from the hot rice cabinet into a cold production hall, it affects the end product. Then, as it were, there will be a 'skin' on the bread, and when you start cutting your bread, you can take the top off in no time.”

“To always deliver the same quality, it is crucial that, summer or winter, the condition in the bakery is always the same. That is why it is always between 27 and 30 degrees in the bakery. The process requires a minimum temperature of 27 degrees and 30 degrees is the maximum to keep it workable for my people.”

Minimal airflow

The distribution warehouse has other climate concerns. “The bread is baked and packaged here and ready to ship, the temperature isn't so exciting here anymore. The bread is still cooled here, with minimal airflow. Actually, you won't hear the airflow, only if you hold your hand around, and that's exactly the intention. Indeed, it is important for staff that they do not work in drafts to prevent neck problems and cystitis.”

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“What good is that it's a good temperature at a height of five meters.”

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Sustainability battle

Over the past 10 years, a lot has happened in the bakery, including when it comes to sustainability. “We monitor and measure so that we can make processes more efficient. For example, we reuse heat and switched to LED lighting on sensors, the latter in particular was a huge reduction in energy consumption. We also take a critical look at power use when it comes to climatization; we cool as little as possible. The part where there is no work and where the bread is already ready, we don't do anything there. There, it's just the temperature that results from the process. There's no need for extra cooling there, so we won't do that either.”

Willy also talks about minimizing food waste: “That is also an important green step. As it were, it's circular bread baking: we capture what falls out of machines and goes to animal feed. Even what is not sold in stores comes back here and is processed into animal feed. In this way, we waste as little as possible. I think that's very important.”

A heart for the bakery

You can tell in everything that Willy Boneschansker is a man with a heart for baking. Not only for baking bread and recipes, but also for logistical processes, digitization, certification and personnel policy. A multicolored man who rightly describes his profession as a top sport. He therefore concludes our conversation with the conclusion: “There are bakers at the helm here with the mission of baking good and delicious bread, that's what the team is ready to do every day.”

Source: www.klimaatgroepholland.nl

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